The goal of social media is to accelerate your visibility so that more people know, like, and trust your business, your brand, and you as a person. The problem today is too many marketers are doing the exact opposite. You are diluting your visibility instead of amplifying it.

Recently a consultant who I advise asked me if she should start a Podcast. My response (which is the usual response to everything) was…

“What is the objective?”

If the objective is to interview other people so that you can build relationships, learn, and broaden your own network…then yes, start a podcast!

But, if the objective is to add one more channel where you can espouse the exact same content that you share on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and on your blog, then the answer is no.

If you are trying to share your existing thought leadership with a larger audience, adding another channel for your existing audience to follow isn’t going to help you expand, it’s going to dilute what you’re currently doing.

If you’re afraid of being a best-kept secret, the solution isn’t to yell louder in your own house, you need to be heard in someone else’s.

Don’t start a Podcast, become a guest on someone else’s Podcast.

Don’t add another social media channel. Instead, get someone else to talk about you on theirs!

Stop for a second and think before you do more of the exact same stuff. Doing more sit ups doesn’t give you toned arms, and asking your existing community to follow your work in one more place doesn’t increase your visibility.

Instead, consider how you can be heard in new places, with new audiences, and new communities who don’t know who you are.

Here are four ways you can increase your visibility:

Make a list of 10 podcasts you would like to be interviewed on. Put together a pitch around how you can add value to their show. These hosts are being hit up for interviews every single day, so you need to be unique.

Find 10 different reporters who write about your industry and connect with them. Find ways to add value and show your unique perspective. See if they will quote you or write about you in an upcoming article.

Find a colleague or two who are in complimentary spaces. See if there is something you can do together as a joint venture where you give them visibility to your audience, and they give you visibility to theirs.

Attend or sponsor an event that gathers the type of audience that you’re looking to reach. If you can leverage the opportunity to meet and connect with people face-to-face…do it! If you sponsor the event, you’ll also likely get some marketing from the event hosts. That will put your name in front of attendees before you even get there. (If your audience is entrepreneurs, you should consider attending or sponsoring my event in Ottawa, Money Mindset and Marketing)

Lastly, if you have a book – find a way to give away as many copies as you can to strangers who have never heard about you. Try snail-mailing a copy of your book to podcast hosts, Media personalities, reporters, or influencers every day for a month and see what happens.

The goal is to be heard in places where people have not heard you before, not to yell louder.

Leave a comment and tell me…after reading this blog post, did you change your mind about starting that additional channel for your audience to follow? Does it really make sense and align with your objectives?

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